A New Truth: The Guiding Light
by Eon Penumbra
Summary: Have you ever had a point in your life where all your beliefs crumble into dust because you met someone and learned what life was really like? Well, I sure have. I am Dusk, and this is my story. Third genre is Romance, formerly Friendship.
1. Ch 1: Flip the World

**Chapter 1: Flip the World**

**(Dusk's POV)**

"Dusk, wake up," my mother's voice called back to the sleeping area where my siblings and I slept.

They had gotten up hours ago, and I had remained where I was. I had been awake for at least that long, pondering and thinking. There wasn't much else to do in our clan, at least not at my age.

"Dusk!" she shouted, sounding more snappish. "Don't make me come back there, mister. Get up, now!"

I sighed heavily, my breath rustling from my lungs. "I'll be right there, Mom," I yelled back. "Just let me get _cleaned up_." I said the last two words with distaste dripping from my tone. I hated it when my mother got like that; she's so easily worked up and had no patience.

I pushed myself off of the bed, my joints stiff from lying still for so long. I shook out my fur, then walked over to the water basin in the corner of the bedroom. I dipped my paws in and splashed the lukewarm water over my face before examining my reflection. I was an Eevee, just like all my siblings. My brown fur was always smooth and my tan collar was also immaculately devoid of ruffles. My pointed ears were always more rounded than other Eevee's, and my tail had a patch of silver fur on the tip. Other than that, I was your average four year old Eevee, at least in appearance.

I shrugged, knowing I wasn't going to be able to delay the inevitable any longer, and walked out of the bedroom towards the kitchen. Our cave was simple, four rooms interconnected at a single point in the center, and it was easy to navigate.

As I walked into the kitchen, my mother apparently lost patience again, thinking I was still in my room. "DUSK!" she screamed venomously.

"Yes?" I said nonchalantly as I fully entered the room, stepping lightly across the stone floor.

She jumped for the ceiling when I spoke directly behind her. She whirled around, nearly upturning the table my father had stolen from a human dwelling almost two years ago. "Dusk, you need to stop doing that!" she snarled shakily, ruffling out her fluffy yellow and red fur. She was a Flareon, which might have explained why she was so easy to annoy.

"Stop what?" I asked with false politeness, simply trying to get another rise out of her. "Sneaking up on you, or sleeping in until…" I glanced towards the mouth of the cave, trying to judge the time from the amount of light. "…noon?"

She growled in frustration, jabbing her paw at the stolen clock that sat upon the stolen side table. Basically every human made thing we owned is stolen, just like it was with the rest of our clan. We would steal from humans for whatever we couldn't get from the wild, and the clan often got a large load with every raid. I squinted at the numbers on the face of the clock, using my basic understanding of human numerics to read it. "Oh. Ok, until two o'clock."

"Do you have any concept of how late that is?!" my mother growled furiously, her fur bristling.

I groaned mentally. "Yes mom, I'm sorry," I said in a honeyed voice, trying to get her off my back. "I didn't sleep well last night, and I slept in later than I should have."

My mother's face softened and her fur flattened instantly at my declaration. "I see…" she murmured worriedly. "Do you know why?"

"These weird nightmares," I muttered. "I just kept having the same nightmare keep popping into my head."

The nightmares were no excuse. They had been real, but I had slept through them. They were about the clan being destroyed by humans and Pokemon that they commanded. It wasn't an unusual nightmare, but I at the time, I couldn't shake the feeling of dread. An ironically fortunate problem, as it was.

"Well, I suppose I can forgive you for sleeping in so long," she sighed, glancing around the kitchen. "You're too late for breakfast, and your siblings have all gone off to play. Do you want me to fix you something?"

I shrugged. "I was going to take a walk and grab some berries while I was out," I told her, hopping down from my seat at the table. "Thanks for offering though." I made my way to the mouth of the cave, ready to get some food and exercise.

"When will you be back?" my mom called to me.

"By nightfall," I yelled back without turning around, then I raced off into the outside world.

The bright afternoon sunlight was blinding after being in the dim light of the cave for so long. I squinted and screwed up my face, trying to see where I was going. I veered crazily left and right, rushing past the multicolored blurs that were the other Eons in the clan. After a few seconds of this, my eyesight started to clear, and I pushed myself to a dead sprint towards the berry patch that was outside the clearing near our caves.

As I ran into the woods, I jumped up onto a branch of the nearest tree and started hopping from branch to branch. I was bored at the time, so I just did it for the hell of it. After a while, the trees started to thin, so I dropped down and walked into the small clearing where the berry patch stood. I trotted over the largest patch of berries, and bit a one off, not really caring what kind it was. I chewed absentmindedly, my thoughts drifting to why I had come out here.

In our clan, Eons weren't accepted as adults until they reached five years of age, whether they were evolved or not. The only problem was, we generally reached the age where playing and light sparring lost its enjoyment when we were around three. That left a two year gap in which we were restricted from doing things we were interested in by clan laws, and where we had nothing enjoyable that we could do. It was a paradox, and so many Eons in my age group got so frustrated with being restrained that they ran away or killed themselves.

I shook my head in disgust at how stupid the age laws were. Fortunately, my father was the clan leader, and since I was his eldest kit, I was next in line to become the clan leader. Hopefully, I'd be able to change that law when I took power, and maybe save a few lives in the process.

I was so consumed in debating what I was going to do once I was clan leader that I didn't notice where I had been walking. When I finally started paying attention again, I noticed that I was in an area that I didn't recognize. A vast plain stretched outwards towards the horizon, and a stone cliff stood off to one side, with a cave drilled into the rock face. "Strange…" I murmured, trotting gingerly forward. "I've never seen a place like this in the clan grounds before."

"Hey you!" a booming voice called out to me from my immediate right. "Halt! Where are you going?"

I jumped upon hearing the shout, turning to face the one who had shouted. A muscular Umbreon strode towards me. His golden rings flashed through his black pelt, and his blood red eyes stared sternly out from his face. By his voice and general build, I began to recognize who he was, vaguely. "Apocalypse, right?" I asked, unsure of his name.

"Don't change the subject, kid," he growled. "I asked where you were headed."

_Great, a restricted area. Now I've got to think up some lie. _"I'm headed to that cave over there," I shot back, puffing out my chest with confidence. "My father asked me to deliver the one living there a message."

The Umbreon cocked his head to the side quizzically. "Who approved this?" he asked.

"My father Nero is the clan leader," I told him, letting an inflection of menace invade my tone.

The guard recoiled backwards out of complete shock, recognizing me for the first time. "Dusk?!" he yelped, then he started to become apologetic. "I'm sorry, I didn't recognize you. If your father approved it, then go ahead."

I chuckled darkly. "Gee, thanks." I cast my gaze back to the cave. "Remind me who lives there, if you don't mind. And I asked you your name earlier."

"You were right, I'm Apocalypse," he told me meekly. "And the one who lives there is an Eevee named Solace, the Traitor."

I whipped my head around, staring wide-eyed at him. "No way, not the kit of Rai and Kami?"

He nodded sadly. "The very same, that's why it was such a shock to the whole clan. Both of them are members of our High Council, so nobody expected her to do what she did."

I turned myself back to the cave. "I sure didn't," I whispered softly. "Holy crap. What did she do?"

Apocalypse shrugged. "Ask her yourself. You used to be friends with her, right?" he asked.

I nodded slowly. "A long time ago. I hope she still remembers me."

"Good luck with whatever you'll be discussing," he said, slapping a paw on my back. "How long do you think you'll be?"

I shrugged. "Who knows? With her stubbornness, I could be there all day."

Apocalypse laughed and walked away, grumbling about how boring guard duty normally was.

I sighed and strode forward to stand near the mouth of the cave. Butterflies kept floating in my stomach, not surprising, considering that I was nervous. _I haven't seen her in two years, much less spoken to her. How will she react? Will she remember me?_ I shook those thoughts from my head. "What's gonna happen will," I said softly, then I stepped in front of the mouth of the cave.

"Solace?" I called into the cave.

"Dusk?" a quiet response came back. "Is that you?"

I blinked in surprise, not expecting her to remember me. "Yeah, it's me," I called back. "Can I come in?"

"You have to ask?" she said, more loudly this time.

I waited for more, but I was confused when nothing more came. "Why wouldn't I ask?"

"Just get in here," she growled back. I was taken aback by this, but I strode into the cave anyway.

It was small, much smaller than my own cave. There was only one dimly lit room, and it was barely furnished at all. I noticed Solace sitting on one of only two cushions in the room, and she raised her head off of it to meet my gaze. She looked almost exactly like what I remembered, her coat was several shades lighter than a normal Eevee's, and her tail had a silver patch near the end like mine did. The one thing that had changed was her eyes. Their fire was gone, replaced by a black emptiness that seemed to extend throughout her soul. She looked so desolate and forlorn, I almost became scared at how much impact that gaze carried.

"Alright, sit down," she ordered roughly. I was still confused, but I complied anyway, seating myself on the cushion. "Now, what is this about, since this can't be a social visit."

"Who says it can't?" I shot back. Her eyes narrowed, so I continued before she got mad. "I came here on my own, Solace."

In that instant, her expression went from angry to confused. "You mean without being asked or ordered to?" she asked. I nodded, so she continued. "How did you get past the guard?"

"I told him my father had told me to give you a message, and because you're stubborn, it would take a while," I said with a grin. She looked half shocked and half offended at the same time. "I was lying about you being stubborn."

She shook her head quickly. "That's not the point," she muttered. "You could get in so much trouble and…"

"Honestly Solace, do you really think I care what my father thinks?" I interrupted her. "He's short sighted, old-fashioned, and he banished you from our clan without publicly giving a reason. I could care less."

She looked totally flabbergasted at that point, so I continued. "Why did he banish you and label you a traitor?" I asked gently.

She shuddered suddenly, and a flicker of unease passed across her face. "You're his son," she snapped harshly. "You should know already."

That surprised me. _She knows that I don't like my father, and yet she says I know because of him? _"I am nothing like my father," I growled back, offended. "I hate him. Did nothing I said earlier sink in?"

Solace flinched at my accusation, and I started to feel bad for losing my cool with her. "Solace, I'm trying to figure this out so I can help you," I sighed. "I'm your friend, and I don't want you to have to live like this."

She quietly sniffed into her cushion, and mumbled something unintelligible. "What?"

"How can you change anything?" she whispered. "I've been training every day for two years to get out of here, and yet I can't. Nothing has changed."

I sighed again, really getting tired of going in circles. "There's one advantage to being my father's son," I reminded her. "I'm next in line to be the clan leader. I can change this when I become leader. Once I turn five in a week, I'll challenge him for the position every day. I'm not going to rest until the clan is run properly, and until you are a part of it once again."

Solace started at me blankly for a few seconds, then she chuckled. "I knew you didn't get along with your father, Dusk," she said. "What I didn't know is that you hated him enough to push him out of power. But you're naïve."

"What?" I yelped. "How am I naïve?"

"If you don't get it, you're even more naïve," she stated bluntly. "Your father became the leader of this clan for a reason. It's because he's the strongest in the clan. Not because of his ideals, his methods, or anything like that. It was power that gave him that position, nothing else." Solace stared directly into my eyes again, and this time I could see just how bitter she was. "You have to accept that there are some things you can't change. You work so hard for your entire life, and just when you've got it all, someone comes along and stomps on everything you believe in. It's a fact of life."

"How can you say that?" I whispered hollowly, mesmerized by the change in her demeanor. "Your own name is meant to be a source of courage and hope. How can you-"

"I hate my name," she spat, bearing her fangs in a snarl.

I blinked, not expecting the interruption. "You what? Why?"

"Because it's the one thing I'll never have. There is no solace, no hope, no light." She turned her face away and whispered so quietly I could barely hear her. "Not for me."

I was frozen, completely unable to move. "Solace…" I rasped, dumbfounded by her negativity. "Why?"

For a moment, she didn't respond. Then, as time seemed to crawl, dragging itself across the barren desert of seconds that seemed like hours, she met my gaze once again. "Do you really want to know?" she whispered softly.

I shivered slightly at her implication, but my curiosity overcame my trepidation. "Yes."

Solace sighed, and shook her head. "I hope you don't regret it. I'll tell you just how corrupt the clan has become under your father…"

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I could use some critique on this chapter. I'm hoping to make this my best fanfic yet, and one of my first completed attempts. Thanks in advance.


	2. Ch 2: Pointless

**Chapter 2: Pointless**

**(Dusk's POV)**

Solace sighed heavily, her breath rustling from her lungs like a breeze through a forest. "Before I tell you my story, tell me which of your father's laws you think to be the most stupid."

"Do you want the long list, or the short list?" I asked sarcastically. "I could go on naming his stupid laws all day."

"Just pick one," she snapped irritably.

"Fine," I said, pondering for a second. "I'd say the age laws. Eons our age have killed themselves over the restriction imposed on them."

Solace scoffed at my answer. "Is that really how you believe they died?"

I sighed. "Solace, I don't have any clue what's going on in our clan. So, if you do, enlighten me."

She smirked cruelly, a dark storm brewing in her eyes. "Gladly," she whispered icily. "Your father had them killed."

"Why would he do that?" I asked skeptically.

"Your father keeps close tabs on everyone in the clan," she told me, the beginnings of a scowl forming on her face. "They're supposed to be for the clan's protection, but he abuses that power to spy on possible dissidents. Any Eon that he deems a traitor is killed."

"That doesn't explain why he had Eons our age killed," I said, frowning.

Solace nodded. "Actually, it does. Your father is on the extreme side of traditionalist policy. Any action that doesn't fall in line with his model of perfection is wiped out, then covered up."

I raised an eyebrow at the last statement. "In line with his model of perfection?" I asked.

"Simply put, any Eon who shows even the smallest shred of discontent with his laws is killed," she clarified.

The pieces started to fall into place in my head. "That makes sense," I murmured. "But then, why are you alive? He branded you a traitor and exiled you, but you're alive."

Solace tensed up at my implication, then she shuddered and curled herself into a ball on the cushion. I waited a few seconds, trying to give her time to collect herself, while her shivering slowly worsened, then calmed down. "I'm a special case," she murmured. "I broke the law that says we aren't allowed to associate ourselves with non-Eons."

"But that's one of his pet laws," I said. "Why wouldn't he enforce it as strongly?"

Solace shivered again. "He killed them instead," she whispered harshly. "To make an example of me."

I sighed, knowing that there was no way around it. "Solace, maybe it would be better if you told me the entire story. From the beginning."

She was still for a moment, then she nodded slightly. "Alright," she agreed, then she began her tale.

"I was your average three year old Eevee when I started to become bored with what we were allowed to do in our clan. So, one day I decided to explore what was outside of the clan." She lifted her head of the cushion, her eyes distant and clouded. "I met two Pokemon not far from the clan. One was Breaker, a Luxio from the pride that was traveling through here. The other was Storm, he was a Riolu from the pack in this area." A small smile lit her face as she remembered back. "We had fun. We would have actual battles, we would race, I even visited Breaker's pride once." Her fond tone dropped off, replaced by a troubled one. "Then one of our clan saw us playing, and notified your father." Solace started shaking again, and her voice matched that. "T-they came after us in a group while w-we were playing one d-day. Your f-father held me b-back while the others k-killed t-them." She broke down at this point, her sobs making her words unintelligible. After a few minutes, she started to regain composure, and she continued. "After they died, they threw their bodies off of a cliff, and dragged me back to the clan. I was forced to live in this cave, and they set Apocalypse to guard me. I've been here ever since."

I stood motionless, trying to absorb the information I had been presented with. "That… that…" I stuttered, trying to come up with a word bad enough to describe what my father had done. "That complete fiend. He killed those two just for associating with you?"

Solace nodded miserably. "They're both gone," she cried. "I've been stuck here, unable to escape because of Apocalypse."

I cocked my head to the side, confused about the way she had worded that. "How does he keep you in here?" I asked.

She shivered, and this time it looked more like fear than sadness. "I'm afraid of him," she whimpered, curling into a tight ball on her cushion. "I can't even face him anymore."

"Why are you afraid?" I asked.

She shook her head, constricting into a tighter ball on the cushion. "I can't… just drop it," she muttered flatly.

I felt a surge of anger at her dismissal of her pain. "Why?!" I snapped, causing her to jump. "He's hurt you, and you just want me to stand around and do nothing?!"

"It's pointless anyway," she muttered. "You can't beat him. You can't beat your father. You can't get me out of here, and you can't change anything."

I surged to my feet, my anger driving me halfway across the room before I caught myself. "I will change this! I'm not going to let my father drive us to ruin! I'm not so weak that I'll never be able to defeat him!"

"There are some things you can't change, Dusk," Solace told me flatly. "I told you this already. Give up."

I was so angry, I began to twitch with contained rage. "I refuse to accept that," I growled. "Apocalypse did something to you, and I want him to pay for it."

Solace turned away from me and faced the wall, rolling onto her side. "Just go away," she whispered. "Don't cause me any more pain than I already have to deal with."

Utter defeat came crashing down on my head with her words. "A-alright," I stuttered. "I'll leave." I turned and walked out into the corridor. As I did, I could have sworn I heard a sob from Solace. I paused momentarily, but eventually I kept walking, dragging myself unwillingly down the hallway. I'd never felt so helpless. _Maybe she is right. If I can't even help her, what can I do? I'm so useless…_

"Indeed you are," a familiar voice sneered as I exited the cave. I snapped my head up in surprise to stare directly into a pair of glowing purple eyes. I felt drowsy and confused, and I blanked out completely within seconds.

***

I shook my head groggily, trying to regain my senses. The time that had passed felt like only a second, but it could well have been an eternity.

"So, you're awake," a dark voice growled. I turned my attention to where the sound had come from, only to have a black paw slam into my face, knocking me over backwards. "You traitorous piece of shit."

I held my face in both paws, trying to speak through my gasps of pain. "Shut your mouth," I snarled back, glaring at the Pokemon that had hit me. I recognized him almost instantly, a pang of distaste flickering across my consciousness. "Apocalypse, you jackass. Tormenting Solace isn't enough for you, is it?"

Apocalypse snickered snidely, but he didn't respond. I growled, and moved to attack him, but my body didn't respond. I tried to open my mouth to curse, but it didn't work either. _What the… what is this crap?!_

"Try looking around _before_ you charge in," a slightly nasal, snobbish voice commented lazily from my left. I tried to turn my eyes to the speaker, but whatever was paralyzing my body had the same effect on my eyes as it did on the rest of me. The mysterious speaker laughed at my predicament. "Come on, Dusk. Surely you recognize my signature technique?"

Some synapse in my brain fired at his question, sending a jolt of surprise through my body, the twitch breaking through the paralysis. I tried to speak, to move, but I remained rigid and immobile.

My captor chuckled, clearly enjoying making me as uncomfortable as possible. "Can't move, eh?" he asked mockingly, a bit of a singsong tone to his voice. "I suppose I can let you go for a moment, seeing as you can't do anything."

The invisible force holding me in place suddenly vanished, and my straining muscles propelled me forward towards Apocalypse. He smashed his paw into my face again, and I went tumbling backwards, rolling across the ground until I came to a rest next to a furry lump on the floor. I raised my head gingerly, the pain from Apocalypse's second strike radiating across my face. I blinked a few times, and cast my newly mobile gaze to the surrounding area. I was in some sort of cave, the walls and floor were solid rock, and bundled grass torches cast dim, flickering light over the stone. I noted an entrance with a stone partially rolled away from the opening. I narrowed my eyes as I saw this, the stone providing the clue my brain was looking for. I was in the clan's detention cell, where the Eons who broke the most serious laws of our clan were held. _Which fits my situation perfectly._

"Dusk…" a raspy, sandpaper rough voice whispered, followed by several hacking coughs. I glanced downward, and the sight that greeted my eyes made me want to gag.

Solace lay on the ground, covered in blood and bruises. Her left foreleg was bent awkwardly, and she had a deep gash across her side, so much so that I could see a shard of white bone from her ribs poking out, sliding grotesquely with each ragged breath she gasped from the air. She gazed pathetically up at me, her eyes dim and filled with tears. "Run… while you… can," she wheezed. "You… have to… escape… from here."

My eyes widened, my breath caught in my throat, and my fur rose slowly on my back; all of it telling me to run. I turned towards the door, but my body didn't respond. This wasn't the psychic paralysis from before. It was something totally different. Weakness.

Dark murmurs filled my head, the whispering echoes of my own thoughts surrounded my consciousness. _I'm so pathetic. I can't help Solace at all, I can't even escape from here. I'm so useless, damn it. Why? Why am I so weak?_

"It's because you're afraid," the snide voice spoke from behind me, snapping me out of my haze.

I turned back around again, locking eyes with a lime-green Espeon, who was all too familiar to me. "I was never afraid of you," I retorted. "Nero, I always did hate the way you did things. Now that I see the full scope of how twisted you are, I can't let you keep on living."

The Espeon smirked at my declaration. "You haven't changed at all, Dusk," he laughed, then his expression hardened and his eyes bored into mine fiercely. "You should address me as 'father', not Nero. You're outnumbered and outmatched, and yet you claim you can kill me. That makes you look even weaker than you already are." Now his glare flared sharply, causing me to take an involuntary step backwards. "Finally, what you're afraid of isn't me. You're afraid of your own weakness. You're a coward who can't even overcome his own shortcomings."

Nero's words bit hard, but the undeniable truth bit harder. _I am weak. I am useless. I'm such a pathetic coward. _I sank to the floor in despair, gasping for air as I started to hyperventilate from shock. As I fell, my gaze turned to Solace, who by this point was barely breathing. Something stirred in my consciousness, seeing her near death. The only one I could trust in the whole clan was dying, and I couldn't do anything about it.

"_I refuse to accept that!"_ my earlier declaration echoed through my brain. _"He's hurt you, and you want me to stand around doing nothing?!" "I'm not so weak that I won't be able to defeat him one day!"_

"That's right…" I murmured, halting my fall. "I'm not so weak…" I raised my eyes and glared at Nero. "…that I won't be able to defeat you!"

With that snarl, I charged at Nero and Apocalypse, intending to give back the beating they'd given Solace a thousand times over. I rammed into Nero, then I bit down on his right foreleg, ignoring his yell of pain as I shoved him to the floor. Apocalypse shot several black energy rings at me, but I rolled to the side and shot forward with a Quick Attack, slamming my paw into his face the way he'd done to me earlier and sending him skittering back.

"How does it feel to be on the receiving end of the beating?" I snarled at the fallen Umbreon, advancing on him to finish him off, when a powerful force exerted itself over my body, rendering me immobile. A low growl rose in my throat as I realized that Nero had caught me again.

"Too bad, Dusk," he giggled sickly. "Apocalypse, finish him off."

I strained against the psychic bonds that held me, turning my head towards the psychotic leader of our clan. "I'll be the one… to finish you off!" I shouted, focusing my energy in my mouth. A globe of purple and black energy formed from my open jaw, and I spat the Shadow Ball at Nero, smiling at his pained yelp when it exploded on contact with him. The psychic hold he'd placed on me broke, and I spun to face him as he dragged himself off the ground, charging a rainbow energy beam in the jewel on his forehead.

_Psybeam. Crap, I won't be able to keep dodging both of them for long._ I heard Apocalypse snarl behind me, and I glanced over my shoulder to see him charging at me in a rage. _Then again, maybe I won't have to._ As Nero fired the Psybeam, I leapt into the air, flipping over the charging Apocalypse, who was hit by the rainbow beam. It didn't do much damage due to his typing, buy it blinded him long enough for me to take him down. I landed behind him and bit down with all my strength on his back leg, digging my fangs into the skin. He shrieked in blind pain, and I yanked down hard, severing his Achilles tendon and slicing the sciatic nerve in his leg as I pulled him to the floor. _He won't be able to stand now, much less fight._ I turned my attention to Nero, watching as he struggled to his feet with his three good legs. _One down, one to go._

"You little bastard!" Nero shouted, shooting another rainbow colored Psybeam at me, his eyes flashing with rage.

I rolled out of the way of the attack, which exploded harmlessly against the wall behind me. "I'd rather be a bastard than your son," I shot back, charging towards him to take him down. Somehow, he flew out of the way with blinding speed, dodging me and hurtling towards the fallen Apocalypse. He touched the whimpering Umbreon with a paw, and both of them vanished in a flash of light. The stone that stood at the entrance of the cave rolled over the opening, sealing us in the torchlit chamber.

I stood unmoving after what had just happened, realization hitting me like a freight train. _They Teleported, I think. But Espeon aren't supposed to be able to learn Teleport! What the hell…_

I shook my head in disgust, letting out a sigh of discontent. "I can't believe I let them get away," I muttered. "After what they did to Solace…" I trailed off, realizing with a start that I'd forgotten all about her. "Crap!"

I rushed over to her side, still mentally kicking myself that I had forgotten her injuries. She hadn't gotten any better, her breathing was labored and quiet, she was barely moving, and she lay in a pool of blood from her wounds.

I immediately started to panic at her condition, but I forced myself back to a modicum of calm long enough to work up some resolve. "I hope I'm not out of practice…" I whispered, closing my eyes and focusing on healing her. I wished for her to be alright, to be safe and happy. For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then, a golden glow descended down onto Solace's form, enveloping her in a soft light. She groaned quietly as the energy started to heal her, her injuries knitting and breathing stabilizing. The light faded quickly, but it had done enough. I sighed with relief, glad that the technique had worked.

Solace's eyelids fluttered, and she opened her eyes slowly as she regained consciousness. She stared at me for a few seconds, then she tried to speak. "D-Dusk," Solace coughed, her lungs still hurting her. "I thought I told you… to escape… why did you stay?"

I smiled, my exhaustion creeping up on me. "Long story short, I chased off Nero and Apocalypse, and I used Wish to heal some of your injuries," I told her, laughing at her surprised expression. "I have no clue how I managed it, frankly. I'm a little rusty with using Wish, so you should probably just rest until you finish healing."

She nodded slowly, turning her head from side and examining the cave. "We're still stuck in here?" she asked.

I nodded. "Nero Teleported out with Apocalypse and shut us in here," I said with a yawn.

Solace looked at me with concern. "You need to rest too," she chided, laying her head down on her paws.

I nodded, laying next to her and curling up in a ball, draping my tail over my eyes. "Good night, Solace."

As I drifted off, I heard her quiet reply. "Good night, Dusk."

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Phew, my epic writer's block of doom is finally gone. Please read and review.


	3. Ch 3: Get Out Alive

My apologies for the long wait, here comes Chapter 3 of A New Truth. Thanks to **Orythea**, **Creation of** **Pokerus**, **Jabbascript**, **Kitmaro**, and **Drifblim25** for reviewing. I also thank my readers from Serebii, mainly **Bossk** and **TheBlueRabbit**. Please note that the subtitle has been changed, so it now reads: A New Truth: The Guiding Light.

**Delano:** Sorry for not answering your question last chapter. I don't accept OC's for this fic, but if you really want me to use your OC, you can submit him to my PMD2 fic Gathering Storm and I'll definitely use him.

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_"If you wanna get out alive… go, run for your life…" _-Get Out Alive by Three Days Grace.

**Chapter 3: Get Out Alive**

**(Solace's POV)**

I couldn't sleep. My side still ached, throbbing as I lay in the cold stone cell. I glanced over at Dusk, who was sleeping peacefully after somehow driving off both Nero and Apocalypse and bringing me back from the brink of death. _He never ceases to amaze. Does he even have a limit to what he's capable of?_

I sighed, knowing I wasn't going to be sleeping anytime soon, when a large rumbling sound echoed through the prison cell where we were resting and a strong vibration shot through the stone floor. I snapped to my feet, ignoring the wave of pain from my side that protested my actions. "Dusk, get up!" I snapped, glancing around worriedly to try and figure out what the commotion was.

"Five more minutes, mom," Dusk muttered sleepily, rolling away from me.

All the blood drained from my face, only to return in force an instant later. "I'm not your damn mother!" I snarled, jabbing him sharply in the side with a paw.

"Arrrgh!" he yelped, his body spasming into the air. "Imupimupimupimup!" Dusk whipped his head back and forth, panting heavily. As soon as he focused enough to notice me, he calmed down and grinned sheepishly. "Sorry Solace. I was kinda still half asleep."

I giggled softly before stretching and straightening up. "It's fine," I told him. "We might have a problem though."

"What's the problem?" he asked, just as another tremor reverberated through the cell. Dusk glanced around a few times before returning his attention to me. "I'm going to hazard a guess and say that's the problem."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Obviously, but I have no idea what's causing it."

He shrugged. "Then don't worry about it. It's not our problem if it's happening outside."

"I guess-" I started to say, but I stopped when I heard voices outside the cell.

"You have to get out of here, Mizu." A male voice was saying outside the cell. "Humans are destroying the whole clan, we have to escape."

"But… what about the prisoners in this cell?" the apparent guard asked. "We can't just leave them here."

"I'll take care of it," the first voice assured the guard. "Go on ahead, leave things here to me."

Dusk tensed next to me, shifting into a battle stance. "Looks like it just became our problem," he growled. "We might have to fight our way out of here."

"No need for that," the voice commented. Several jolts of electricity sparked across the stone covering the entranceway, then the stone rose inexplicably into the air.

A spiky-furred, bright yellow Jolteon walked into the room, and I recognized him immediately by the length of his quills. "Dad?" I asked hesitantly. "What are you doing here?"

My dad sighed quietly. "I'm getting the both of you out of here. Neither of you deserves to be imprisoned in here."

"Is that some kind of joke?" Dusk snarled. "You want to explain to me why you've gone alone with Nero's plans this whole time, Rai?"

My father glanced over at Dusk, appraising him carefully. "Looks like he was right," I heard him mutter before clearing his throat to answer the question. "I'm dead serious Dusk. The only reason any of us allowed Nero carte blanche is because he's far stronger than any of us. He'd kill us for defying him, so we worked behind his back to save as many as we could. The young Eons that ran away were aided by us. That's part of the reason I'm here now."

"What's the rest of the reason?" I asked, quirking my head to the side.

He sighed tiredly. "Let's just say I had a debt to repay, and this is how I'm doing it. Fair enough?"

I nodded, and Dusk followed suit tentatively. Rai smiled and opened his mouth to continue speaking, but the sound of a huge explosion and a tremor that rocked the whole cell interrupted him. Pieces of stone started to fall off the ceiling and the front wall collapsed completely.

"Dammit, the humans are too close already," he cursed heatedly. "No other choice, then. We have to break through the wall."

Dusk raised an eyebrow at my dad's statement. "How?" he asked.

"Just watch," Rai assured us, his fur beginning to spark as he charged up a blinding ball of electric energy. Just as the ball looked fit to burst, he hurled it at the wall as a flashing beam that drilled into the stone and expanded, blowing out the entire wall on that side. "Come on!" he shouted, rushing through the hole.

Dusk and I rushed forward, leaping through the rubble surrounding the makeshift exit just as the stone cell crumbled to pieces behind us.

"That was close," I huffed, Dusk nodding in stunned agreement next to me as we ran.

"This way!" Rai shouted to us as he streaked ahead, barely visible as a neon yellow blur. We pushed forward, struggling to keep pace with him as more explosions from attacks echoed from behind us.

The three of us hurtled through the woods that encircled the clan grounds, flying past tree trunks and crashing through bushes that lined the snaking pathway. The trees slowly started parting, the forest thinning as we neared its edge. Our trio raced up a ridge near the edge of the forest, bursting out to the top of the moonlit cliff. A dimly lit plain stood out in front of us, a series of barely visible crags sticking out of the nocturnal grassland.

All three of our group skidded to a halt, panting breathlessly to inhale as much of the clean night air as we could. "This is as far… as I go," my father gasped. "You have to cross this plain and make it to that high ridge over there." He pointed at a gigantic outcropping of rock that seemed to pierce the moon with its peak. "You'll find your contact, an Absol named Scion, at the top. He'll take you to a safe place until this madness dies down, and then you can go wherever you choose."

"Sounds almost too good to be true," Dusk murmured darkly.

Rai groaned in agitation. "You still don't trust me?" he asked.

"Of course not," Dusk snapped. "I beat Nero and Apocalypse on my own. And I've never been trained in the Roku**sentou, the six combat aspects. They were both supposedly Rokusentou experts, having mastered all six forms. And yet, neither of them could keep up with me, neither of them managed to land so much as a single blow." He glared into Rai's eyes, barely holding back from snarling. "I just find it impossible to believe that he's so strong as to be able to beat all of the High Council in battle."**

Rai ground his teeth from stress, the grating whisper might have been a roar in the silence of the nighttime landscape. "I don't know if I should tell you this, since you have so much to learn before you can truly master your power, but if it'll get you to finally trust me, I guess I have to."

"Get on with it," Dusk spat vehemently.

"You have… a very rare power," he began carefully. Something that we Eons call the 'Sovereign Crown'. Nobody really knows exactly what it does, but it's said to appear only when the Eon race is in danger."

"What a load of cockamamie Tauros shit," Dusk laughed spitefully. "What next, I can walk on water?"

My father glared at Dusk with equal venom. "You want proof, then take a look at your fur. Notice anything different?"

"What are you-" he snapped, twisting his head back to see his fur. "Whoa."

I squinted at his fur, trying to see what if anything had changed. Then I caught it. The tips of his fur quills glinted a beautiful silver in the twinkling lunar illumination. "So… wait…" I said, trying to get my bearings. "Does this mean Dusk is the savior of the world?"

Rai shrugged. "Hell if I know," he said simply. "That's up to his judgment." With that, my father turned back to the clan, which was still being horribly ravaged by explosions, and began walking quickly towards the tree line.

"Dad, wait!" I cried. "Where are you going?"

He glanced back over his shoulder. "I have to go back to the clan and save anyone I can, Solace," he said quietly. "Your path isn't here anymore, so go on. I'll be fine."

I bit my lip, unsure what to say. Dusk tapped my shoulder with his paw, nodding. "Alright," I murmured, turning away. I glanced back once more, but my father was already gone.

"Solace," Dusk said quietly, his eyes concerned but determined. "He'll be fine; Rai didn't get to be on the High Council because he's weak."

I nodded, and Dusk smiled. The two of us ran down the side of the slope into the grass, dashing for the peak with all our might. Dusk started to slowly pull ahead, since I was still dealing with my injured side. "Dusk, slow down a little," I called, and he glanced back before cutting his speed to run alongside me. "Thanks, my ribs are still bothering me."

Dusk nodded, but suddenly he swerved to the left and leapt into the air, just as a light green blur flashed through the spot where Dusk had been an instant before. I spun back and crouched, trying to make out our attacker in the high, waving grass. Just as I was about to call for Dusk, a black ball of energy streaked over my head, impacting a spot a few meters in front of me. A cry of pain issued as a lime-green Espeon was hurled into the night sky, landing on one of the highest crags that dotted the plain.

"Solace!" Dusk hissed from my right. "This way!" I chased after him in the direction of his voice, still unable to see him. I heard the quiet sound of rocks falling, so on I hunch I jumped up, catching sight of a crag looming right in front of me. I grabbed on, my claws scraping and scratching the rough stone for a foothold. Once they stuck fast, I hauled myself back up the rock and looked around for Dusk.

"I'm up here," he whispered from directly above me. I glanced skyward and saw that he was hunched on one of the crags. "Should we go help that Eon?"

"Are you insane?" I shot back quietly. I looked out over where the green Eon was prowling on top of the crag worriedly, five Houndoom and three humans surrounding him. "We're outnumbered four to one. Besides, we don't have ties to the clan anymore, it's none of our business."

Dusk shot me a confused look. "You can't seriously tell me you're alright with leaving him to die," he muttered earnestly.

I glanced back at the spectacle below me, the hellhounds were just starting to fire Flamethrower attacks at the helpless Eon. He weaved and dodged between the bright flashes of fire, but he was helpless to fight back or even get away from the marauding assault. I growled low in my throat at my inability to come up with a definitive answer, every time I came close to saying I was okay with letting the Eon die, something held me back. "Dammit," I swore angrily. "You're right, I can't just sit here and watch this."

Dusk nodded, glaring down at them. "We need some way to distract them in different directions, otherwise they'll just focus their attacks on us instead."

I smirked. "I've got just the thing," I whispered. "Remember that trick I used to pull when we played tag as kits?"

"You mean that afterimage move?" he asked softly.

"Yep. It's called Double Team, and using it in variations is actually a Rokusentou form, or so I've heard."

"That's perfect," Dusk whispered excitedly. "Let's go, I'll fire Shadow Balls at them to confuse them while you make their heads spin."

"Sounds good," I muttered, leaping down from the rock and taking off in a dead sprint. I shifted my weight from side to side as I ran, my fur standing up as rippling shadow images of me fluttered through the grass, making small patches of movement. Just as I got close to the Houndoom, Dusk fired a glowing purple Shadow Ball from atop the crag, smashing into one of them and bowling the beast over. One of the hounds turned his head to see what was happening, his Flamethrower smacking inadvertently into the trapped Eon as he did so. I winced, but continued rushing around and focused on keeping the Double Team up. The human trainers of the Houndoom caught sight of the clones and panicked, whipping out several capsule-like objects and sucking the Houndoom into them with red beams of light before running off.

I stopped running, allowing my illusionary technique to dissipate. My breath suddenly caught in my chest, and I coughed violently, hacking and gasping as I pitched over onto my side.

Just as I was about to hit the ground, I felt myself bump into something far softer. "I've gotcha," Dusk whispered, pushing upright to help me maintain my balance.

I nodded in thanks, coughing a few more times before I motioned to him that I was fine. He stood away, glancing up at the mysterious Eon, who was struggling to stand. After looking at him for a few seconds, he inhaled sharply and growled. "Nero."

I shot my head up, and sure enough, Nero was hanging from the cliff above us, about to fall. He looked down and spotted us, his eyes widening. "Dusk, Solace," he cried pathetically. "Please! Help me!"

I snarled harshly, my intense hatred for Nero bubbling up in my stomach. "Giratina dammit," I cursed angrily. "I can't believe we just saved that bastard." I looked over to Dusk, who was still staring intently at the struggling Espeon. "Let's just leave him here and go."

"No."

My eyes widened and my ears perked up. "No?!" I yelped. "What do you mean, no?! You're not seriously thinking of helping him, are you?!"

"Of course not," Dusk spat darkly. "I'm going to finish this." He glared upward, his eyes piercing the moon and sky as focused on his father. His mouth snapped open, and ghostly purple energy gathered in front of his maw. Sparks of black lightning flew off of it and the air around him shifted, drawing into a vortex around his Shadow Ball. I realized that he was pouring all of his energy and anger into the attack, forming a killing blow. He swung his head sharply, hurling the hugely powerful projectile at Nero with all his might. I barely had time to register this before he slammed into me, pushing me to the ground as the giant Shadow Ball crashed into the rock and the whole cliff exploded into a million fragments of stone. A shuddering shockwave rolled over us and pieces of rock flew around us like a plague of locusts. The dust from the explosion slowly spread out in a cloud and dissipated into the nighttime darkness.

After everything had quieted, which felt like an eternity, Dusk finally stood. "Let's go, we have to find that Absol and finally get the hell out of this dammed place," he panted.

I shot him a quick glance as I stood, noticing that the silver tips of his fur had deepened slightly and were more visible. _It keeps growing. Does it expand every time he pushes his limits?_

Dusk peeked over his shoulder as he turned away. "You alright Solace?" he asked curiously.

I twitched in surprise, having been stuck in my own head. "Yeah, I'm fine," I said. I trotted after him, leaving behind the aftermath of the Sovereign Crown's wrath.

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We wound our way up the winding mountain path, skipping over stones and small roots that lined the side of the peak. We were both exhausted, our failed rescue attempt coupled with all the running and climbing we'd been doing was really taking its toll on us. Finally though, we were in sight of our goal.

I dragged myself up the final set of cliffs, finding myself face to face with a truly majestic Pokemon. Its fur was the color of newly fallen snow; its skin, claws, and crest starkly opposite in jet black. Ruby red eyes stared out of a sharply chiseled visage, and its silky coat rippled softly in the mountain breeze. I was awestruck and somewhat fearful at the same time.

The mysterious Pokemon turned his burning eyes to our panting, exhausted forms. "Are you two Solace and Dusk?" he asked, his voice deep and growly.

I straightened up and projected my most confident image. "Yes, that's us," I said, Dusk nodding beside me.

He nodded. "I'm Scion, your contact," he told us, shifting his attention to Dusk momentarily before focusing on me again. Scion smiled, which brightened his stark demeanor to a degree I'd never seen before. "I'll Teleport you to one of the caves, were you can get some rest. You both look exhausted."

"Like you wouldn't believe," Dusk wheezed breathlessly.

The Absol laughed, padding silently over to us before the scythe on his head started glowing a brilliant white. The world spun around us, the color slowly shifting from midnight black and granite grey to warm brown and green tones. I blinked, and the three of us were standing inside a cozy stone cave, several mats of straw sat on the floor, and a side passage that probably linked this area to a larger series of caves was drilled into the left wall.

I looked up at Scion in confusion. "How'd you do that? Absol can't learn Teleport."

Scion shrugged. "Normally you'd be right, but Teleportation is actually a Rokusentou form," he said dismissively. "It's just easier if you have pre-existing psychic abilities. You have to be born for it, that's why so few Pokemon can master all six forms."

I nodded, half interested, half not absorbing the information. I let out a gaping yawn, and Scion smiled understandingly down at me. "You two had best get some sleep," he said gently. "Tomorrow is the first day of your new lives."

Dusk nodded and hobbled over to a straw mat before collapsing onto it and instantly falling asleep. I also staggered over to my own mat, falling over haphazardly on the packed straw. My ribs ached, but I was really too tired to even care.

Just as my consciousness faded, I saw Scion cast one last tender glance on our direction before he went into the other section of the cave. I wanted to learn more, but my mind and body shut down completely before I could work up enough interest.

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**So? What did you think? Was it worth the wait? Please read and review :)**


	4. Ch 4: Find Myself Again

Hey guys, welcome to _A New Truth,_ Chapter 4. Instead of thanking my reviewers at the beginning of the chapter, I'll be responding to their reviews at the end. Hope you enjoy! By the way, I owe a large ammount of inspiration for this chapter to the song _Crawling_ by Linkin Park. If you've got some free time, look up the remix version and listen to it, it's amazing.

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_Discomfort, endlessly has pulled itself upon me… Distracting… reacting… Against my will I stand beside my own reflection… It`s haunting how I can't seem... To find myself again… My walls are closing in… I've felt this way before… So insecure… _**-**_**Crawling **_**by Linkin Park**

**Chapter 4: Find Myself Again**

**(Solace's POV)**

I woke up slowly, my mind bubbling to the surface of my consciousness like mud in a puddle. I groggily shook my head, trying to clear it before I examined my surroundings.

Dusk was still sitting on his straw bed, but he was awake, preening his fur quietly so as not to wake me up. As he finished with his collar, he noticed that I was up. "Welcome to reality, Solace," he chuckled softly. "Did you sleep well?"

I yawned, scratching my side with a paw. "I must have," I told him. "My body doesn't want to wake up yet."

He nodded thoughtfully, giving his fur a cursory glance to see if he'd missed any patches of his coat. "It's hard to get used to this new silver-tipped fur," he said with annoyance. "I'm not sure how much I like it, and it's harder to clean than my old fur."

"I like it," I replied, remembering back to last night. "It looks beautiful, especially under the moonlight."

Dusk raised an eyebrow and cast a sideways glance in my direction. I blushed and hunched myself down onto the mat, trying to hide my face in the straw. "That didn't come out right."

He snickered at my discomfort, teasing me with his grin. "Ah well," he sighed dramatically. "I suppose I'll just get used to it eventually." He stood up, shaking out his coat to get out the morning stiffness. "I'm going to go look around; you want to come with me?"

I nodded, rolling off the mat and standing, shaking out my fur as I walked towards him. Dusk cocked his head to the side as I did this, his expression at once impressed and confused. "You practice that move much?" he asked, only half-sarcastic.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Yeah, every morning when I get up, literally."

He laughed, turning down the passage on his right and flicking his tail in motion for me to follow. I did so, trotting leisurely behind him. My flickering thoughts, on the other hand, didn't match the pace my paws had taken. _It's only Dusk, why do I feel so uncomfortable around him sometimes? Why does his grin make me feel happy? I can't like him, can I? _I shook my head. "There's no way," I muttered, my usual confidence notably absent from my tone.

"Hm?" Dusk hummed, glancing back over his shoulder at me. "You say something, Solace?"

I jumped, not expecting him to hear me. "No, nothing," I lied, hoping he wouldn't notice. Fortunately for me, he merely shrugged and continued walking.

"Well, aren't you two up early?" Scion's voice called out, from _behind_ us. Dusk and I both whirled around, finding ourselves staring at an empty corridor.

"What the…" Dusk muttered, just as I heard a snap and felt hot breath on my back. I spun again, finding myself staring into burning red eyes.

"Boo."

I screamed and flipped backwards, diving away from the Pokemon that had appeared behind me. Scion let out a bark-like laugh, ruffling out his silky white fur as he did so. "Hah, your face was priceless!" he cackled raucously.

"You suck!" I spat, picking myself off the ground where I had landed. "I still have an injured side, dumbass!"

Scion slowly finished chuckling before grinning sheepishly at me, a likeness of Dusk's same smile. "Sorry, the opportunity was just too perfect." He tilted his head to the side, examining my ribs where I had been slashed. "Your side looks healed to me, but you've got a nasty scar there now."

I glanced down at the area he had indicated, noticing a pearly white line tracing down between the ribs on my left side. "It's already healed?" I asked, somewhat leery of the rapid recovery. "That's impossible. The injury isn't even a day old, and it nearly killed me!"

"That's the power of the Sovereign Crown for you," Scion said seriously, glancing over at Dusk. "It didn't just power up the Wish he passed to you, but just being around him healed your side far faster."

Dusk blinked several times. "I… did all that?" he asked, amazement tinting his voice. "I don't get it, I'm not that much stronger than your average Eevee normally."

"That just shows how powerful the Sovereign Crown has made you," Scion responded. He stared at Dusk's silver tipped quills for a few seconds before he looked back at me. "You two have an important decision to make today."

My ears perked up at his statement. "What decision?" I queried uneasily, unnerved by the tone his voice had taken.

The Absol sighed, his blazing eyes drooping and his face tightening. He suddenly looked almost twice as old, something I never would have anticipated from him. "You have to decide whether to join a different clan, or to go off on your own." He opened his eyes, his voice now soft and gentle. "I'm not going to pressure you to make one decision over the other. You two don't even have to stay together, you can go your separate ways here." He turned back down the hall. "You should go back to the sleeping room and talk out your decision with each other first. After you both decide, I'll have some food waiting for you in the other room."

My paws suddenly felt the full sting of the freezing stone floor beneath them. I winced, catching Dusk's attention. "Are you alright, Solace?" he asked. "You like kinda… pale."

I swayed, not in response to his question, but because I felt inexplicably dizzy. "I- I'm fine," I said, sounding wheezy. "I just…" My sentence was cut short as I pitched over onto the floor. I couldn't see, my hearing was dull as Dusk's shocked yelp passed through my ears, sounding like it was through a filter. _Ugh, why am I… blacking out?_ The last thing I heard before my consciousness faded completely was the terrifyingly loud pounding of my heart.

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My thoughts focused themselves after what seemed like a black millennium, every second frightening and torturous. I grunted, forcing my eyes open a fraction as I did so. My vision was blurry, but the silver figure standing over me… I could never mistake him for anyone else. "Dusk…" I whimpered, my voice cracking and harsh.

"Shh…" he silenced me, sitting down on his stomach next to me. "You fainted in the hallway, so I brought you back to the sleeping room."

I didn't understand what he meant for a few seconds, but eventually I caught on. "The choice…" I murmured. "I… freaked out…"

My eyes could see Dusk better now, perfectly spotting the confused look on his face in response to my statement. "Why would you freak out?" he asked, sounding worried. "Do you not want to join another clan?"

I shook my head, instinctively curling myself into a ball. My friend curled himself around me, giving me a comforting nuzzle on the scruff of my neck. I tensed up as he did so initially, but I relaxed against him quickly, not knowing why. "Thank you…" I whispered.

He sighed, his warm breath rippling across my fur like a breeze across a field. "Solace, why don't you want to join another clan?" he asked, his voice soothing. I jerked slightly, but he continued. "Relax, I'm not going to tell you to, I just want to know why."

_Why am I afraid?_ I mused. "I guess I don't want to become an outcast again," I said, my voice finally starting to return to normal. "I couldn't stand it, especially thanks to Apocalypse." I shivered as I said his name, causing Dusk to coil slightly tighter around me.

"What did he do to you?" he asked, his voice flat and calm. I knew better, I could feel him trembling with suppressed anger.

"He would beat me every day," I told him bluntly, my words hollow. "To him, I was a toy that he could hurt and mess up as much as he wanted. I still have some scars, but he'd heal most of them with Wish. I had no one to go to, he just kept me broken so I couldn't even think of escaping."

Dusk's trembling had risen to a point that it was making me shake too. I nuzzled back against him, trying to calm him down. "You got me out of there, Dusk," I reminded him. "And you paid him back in kind for what he did to me."

He relaxed, settling back down next to me. "Alright," he muttered. "So, you want to go off on your own instead?"

I turned the idea over in my head. _Why not? I've been alone for the last year, what does it matter if it's for the rest of my life?_ As soon as that thought crossed my mind, my whole body twitched, as if defying the power of my idea. "No," I snapped, dropping a deadweight atop the notion of being alone. "I don't want to be alone either."

"Do you want me to go with you?"

My heart practically stopped in my chest. I snapped to my feet, twisting around to see Dusk. His expression was earnest and concerned, but completely serious. "You… you'd go with me?" I asked, incredulous. "But… that would be forever!"

He nodded. "I know," he admitted flatly. "And I'd be willing to do so, if that's what you want."

I shook my head frantically. "No, I don't want to place that kind of burden on you."

"Then what _do_ you want, Solace?" Dusk snapped. He rose to his feet, stalking over to me, placing one of his paws over one of mine. "I'll support you no matter what you decide, but you have to make a decision, not just cross the whole world off the list!"

I stared into his eyes, the fervor and supportive quality they were emitting was almost palpable. "I- I…" I stammered nervously. "I need some time. I know what my options are, I just need some time to decide which one I want to take."

Dusk nodded understandingly, removing his paw from mine. "I'll be out in the hall, you can make your decision in peace." He glided over to the door, his paws seeming to float across the smooth stone floor.

"Dusk," I called, and he turned just as he was about to exit the room. "Whatever happens… thank you."

He smiled, not his trademark grin, but a smile that radiated warmth and kindness. "You're welcome," he said, then he walked out of the room.

I ambled back over to my straw bed, lying down to think. _I already know my choice. I just have to steel myself for the moment of decision._

**

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**

**(Dusk's POV)**

I walked out of the room to give Solace her space, completely numb. _Why did I do that? We're just friends, and yet I comforted her so much, I was so caring. Why do I care that much about her? I can't like her, can I?_ "Can't be…" I muttered, my confidence flat as a punctured balloon.

"Dusk," Scion's voice called out quietly from in front of me. I jerked my head up, watching the Disaster Pokemon paw his way down the corridor. "Did you make your decision?"

I shook my head. "My decision is entirely dependent on what decision Solace makes," I replied, glancing back into the cave. "I just walked out to give her some space."

Scion looked over my shoulder into the cave, his eyes distant. "That must be a hard decision for her," he said, more to himself than me. "She's been alone for a long time, so it affects her judgment."

"Wait, how'd you know about that?" I asked, abruptly suspicious. "You couldn't have been a member of the clan, so why?"

Our Absol caretaker sighed. "Rai told me," he answered, sounding drained. "I've been his contact for about four years now, so I heard all the details when Solace was exiled, and when he had an opportunity to free the two of you."

I shrugged, accepting his reasoning. "It really hasn't been easy for her, but she's coming around." I cast my gaze around the blank walls of the cave, a question that had been nagging at me for quite some time reforming in the back of my mind. "Why can we see in here, Scion? There are no exits as far as I can see, no openings, and no torches. Why isn't it pitch black?"

Scion grinned at my thought. "There's an interesting piece of knowledge behind it." He walked up to the rocks, scratching his claws into the stone. Surprisingly, it was cut away without much effort, scoring through the top layer to reveal another one below. "Take a look."

I sauntered over, peering into the claw marks. Amazingly, I saw greenish-blue light glittering inside the marks, before the holes started to close on their own. I leapt back in shock. "Is this place alive?" I asked, both shocked and awed.

Scion chuckled. "I guess that's one way to put it." He glanced back at the wall, which was now entirely devoid of marks from his claws. "The walls in this place are widely inhabited by tiny, bioluminescent creatures that can secrete a fluid from their bodies that almost mirrors liquefied rock. That's how we can see, their light shines from the walls and produces enough light for Pokemon to see once their eyesight is adjusted to semi-darkness."

"If you say so," I told him, not understanding all the technical jargon, but I still got the gist of it.

He laughed again, sharing a friendly grin with me. "You're not bad, kid," he told me. "You're like a younger version of me, in some ways."

Now it was my turn to grin. "I'll take that as a compliment."

We both snickered, but I stopped, hearing the sound of paws lightly treading over the floor of the cave. "She's decided," I breathed, trying to stop the Butterfree in my stomach from getting any worse.

Solace stepped out of the sleeping room, her eyes bright and determined, carrying some of their old fire. I felt a flutter of happiness cross my heart at the sight, something that was very out of character for me.

"I've decided…" she said, pausing, most likely for dramatic effect. "To join another clan with Dusk."

I blinked stupidly, not realizing what she had just said. After a few seconds, my mouth lit up in a smile that crossed from ear to pointy ear. "That's great!" I yelped, jumping for joy as she laughed, a truly happy laugh that came from her heart.

Scion smiled grandly at our delight, speaking up so we could hear him. "Well, congrats you two," he laughed, sounding almost relieved. "Want to celebrate over some breakfast?"

"Now that you mention it, I'm starving," I chortled heartily.

Solace nodded. "So am I."

I flashed her my trademark grin. "Race you to the table?" I asked.

She smirked back at me. "You're on."

As the two of us dashed down the hall, I was happier than I'd ever been in my entire life.

**

* * *

**

**(Solace's POV)**

I charged down the hall at full speed, racing ahead into a large room that had a woven grass mat that covered most of the floor sitting at the center of it. Several piles of berries and a large pile of meat sat upon it.

I glanced over my shoulder, watching Dusk panting heavily after our race. "I… win…" I gasped, also out of breath.

He laughed, but his lack of air forced him to cough a few times before he could speak. "Nice job." He gestured to the mat with food on it. "Since I assume that's our breakfast, shall we?"

"You bet," I yipped, prancing over to the pile of meat. I picked out a small piece and grabbed it with my teeth. I chewed slowly, not having had meat in a year had left my taste buds somewhat sensitive to the salty taste. _This is awesome. I don't think I've been this happy in a long time._ I glanced over to Dusk, who was hungrily nibbling away at some berries. _And I have him to thank for it all._

Scion strode into the cave behind us, watching us devour our food. "Wow, you two really are hungry."

I looked up, a piece of meat in my mouth. "Aren't choo gofing to haze smoe?" I asked, the food muffling my words.

Apparently they still got the point across. "I had some when I went out to get this for you two," he replied, sitting down calmly to give us time to finish. I watched him carefully, noticing for the first time that he had a dark silver patch on his tail. "Hey Scion," I said, this time swallowing my food before I asked him. "What's with the silver on your tail?" I glanced back at my own tail, remembering that I also had a dark silver patch that was roughly the same color as his. _Come to think of it, Dusk had one too, before his fur changed colors, now it just blends in with the rest of his coat._

"Hm?" Scion grunted, glancing at his tail. "Oh this? It's the mark of a potential Rokusentou user, most of us have them on our tails if we can use more than one form."

"How many have you mastered?" Dusk asked, looking up from his breakfast.

Scion shot us a smug smirk that made Dusk's look humble. "All six."

Dusk blinked at the declaration. "Wow," he breathed. "You must be really strong then, huh?"

Scion laughed. "You might say that," he chortled. "Truth is, I've never once lost a battle outright."

Now I jerked up, staring wide-eyed at the Absol. "No way," I said, my tone incredulous. "Never? As in ever?"

"Not in my entire twelve years of life," he told me.

_I didn't think he was that old. He doesn't look it at all, yet he's three times our age. _"You're older than out parents, and yet you've never lost a battle in your life?"

Scion seemed to enjoy laughing at every little thing; he found humor in the least humorous of situations. "Absol are a long lived species," he said in response. "Most of my kind live to be 200 years old or more, so I'm still a toddler by the standards of my own kin." He stood up, surveying the now severely demolished piles of food. "Seems like you two have eaten your fill. How about we get going to that clan I was talking about?"

Dusk shrugged. "Sure." He glanced over to me, and I nodded to confirm that I was fine with it. "Which clan are we going to?"

Scion smirked. "One that you know very well." His scythe started glowing, then the room started to spin around us. The walls, floors, and ceiling all spun, blurring and slowly changing from dark grey to light blue and green. Scion stood stoic in the eye of the storm, and we were just along for the ride.

The scenery ceased spinning, revealing the three of us to be standing in the middle of a green grassland. The mid-morning sky was as clear as pure water, stretching out to the horizon in a seemingly endless swath of blue.

"Follow me," Scion instructed, stalking away across the grassland towards a series of stone and grass huts, seemingly arising out of the earth itself. I tramped after him, Dusk following behind me as we squinted through the bright sunlight of day.

As we neared the group of huts, I saw Scion talking to a tan-furred Eon with the brightest green ears and tail I'd ever seen. The Leafeon looked about the same age as me, but it was hard to tell, given that his appearance was in the neutral void of years that looked exactly the same for us.

Dusk noticed the Leafeon, and immediately pranced around me to greet him. "Hey Edge, long time no see," he yipped.

Edge turned his head to look at Dusk, squinting and tilting to the side, considering him carefully. "Dusk?" he asked after a while. "Is that you?"

"Yep," Dusk laughed. "Silver fur makes it hard to recognize me, huh?"

"You can say that again…" he muttered. He turned back to Scion, shrugging. "I'll take these two to the quarters we have prepared for them. You can just go ahead and see my dad, you're trusted enough here to go without an escort."

The Absol nodded, turning to stare at us once more. "I'll see you guys in about an hour, with Dusk's uncle Lucius. Until then, you two take it easy." He strode off into the clan, towards the largest stone hut that dominated the center of the little village.

I turned to Dusk, questions popping into my mind that were mostly better directed at someone else. I picked out one that made sense to ask him. "Your uncle is the clan leader here?" I tilted my head towards Edge. "Does that make him your cousin?"

Edge laughed. "Got it in one, Solace." He smiled warmly, friendly but not overbearing. "Our fathers are brothers, they used to be rivals back when they were our age."

I felt my heart skip a beat when I heard this, but Dusk's calm voice cut through my fear. "They're nothing alike though, which is why they were rivals," he was telling me.

I nodded. _I don't know if he noticed or not, but either way, I'm grateful._

Edge cleared his throat, catching our attention. "Follow me," he directed, walking away to our left. "I'll lead you to your hut."

We followed him through the clan, glancing plaintively around at the rest of the Eons in the clan. Most of them were resting, training, or conversing with one another, like a huge family. Edge entered one of the huts, and we followed him inside.

"This is where you'll be staying," he said, flicking his tail at the grass beds and the stone basin that dominated most of the small dwelling. "I'll take my leave now, got to get back to guard duty."

Dusk's cousin slipped out of the hut, leaving the two of us alone. I sighed, tired even though I'd only been up for about an hour. I looked over to Dusk, who had lain down on his grass bed and closed his eyes. _I owe him so much._ Although it was against my nature, I let my thoughts drift to him. _He visited me when I was a traitor, saved my life when I had shunned him, and comforted me when I needed it the most. He is my guiding light._

I sighed contentedly, walking over to the other grass mat and closing my eyes, ready for whatever awaited me, so long as I was by his side.

* * *

How did you enjoy this chapter? I kept my promise that friendship would become more, right? Please Read and Review.

Now to reply to reviews.

**Drifblim25:** Hey, thanks for your review. As for your question, Dusk's fur is tipped with silver due to the effects of the Soverign Crown. He's not shiny, and his fur will return to normal after the Crown fully manifests itself.

**Orythea: **Couldn't have been better, eh? Thanks for such high praise :)

**Saaage:** Nice to have a new face around to review, and thanks for the praise. Hopefully I can continue to live up to your expectations.

**Creation of Pokerus: **Yeah, Dusk can be a cold-blooded killer when he's angry XD And lol, too lazy to log in. If you did that, I might actually be able to find your profile. Thanks for reviewing!


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